Review of Keeping the Faith (2000) by Padraig W — 09 Feb 2008

Take a tired script, marry it to a boring plot, cook it for too long, and you get a dog's dinner. But with Keeping the Faith, once you add that age old indefinable enigmatic screen ingredient - chemistry - you have a movie to remember. Some movies you like without good reason. This is one of them.

The trio of actors each bring something different to this mix, and none of it is what you would expect in your typical romcom. Jenna Elfman is the total opposite of your typical female romantic lead. She is fixed, flinty, and in your face. Perfect. Thank God, we do not have to sit through another lady looking for love story. This lady is not even running or hiding from love. She isn't aware of it. When it hits her it knocks her sideways and you can see that her reflexes are off and her bewilderment is more authentic. A Kate Hudson or an Ashley Judd would have killed it. Don't even contemplate Sandra Bullock.

Ben Stiller could bring so much more to his roles if he relaxed more on screen. His early scenes have a winning charm and openness to them. Later his trademark edginess and irascibility kick in, and in some ways it is regrettable. He has the makings of a fine dramatic actor once his comic schick runs it course. He has the dark looks, sunken eyes and hidden danger that would work well in thrillers - something like Michael Keaton. I look forward to when this side of him is successfully tapped. In the meantime, as here, his manic wild comedy can make you laugh, but can ultimately fray your nerves. His edginess and Elfman's flintiness make for one of the most neurotically perfect matches outside of Woody Allen.

The emotional centre of the film, though, is Edward Norton. Here is one of the finest dramatic actors of our time. An actor of tremendous range who can bring tension, gravitas, sincerity and weight to any role he plays. And here he brings something I never expected - a goofy silliness. His role really does him no favours. He's the patsy. The sap on the sidelines. He has no right to come out with any kudos. The priest confessing to the barman is such a stale joke, it should not be so endearingly warm. But it is. The priest who falls in love with the girl should be banished from movies forever. But here, you connect. The key for Norton is that he keeps the integrity and sincerity of the character intact, and he uses that to unlock the empathy of the viewer. He never sets out to take command of the screen. In his scenes with Stiller, he places Stiller centre stage. His naturalness and goofiness are such a tonic to the styles of Elfman and Stiller, though, that whenever he is on screen, not only does he have your attention, he has your heart. He is the galvanising influence that makes the bland story palatable.

And it is a bland story. The film is a collecting place for every stale Jewish or Catholic joke you have heard once too often and never want to hear again. The situations never rise above the conventional and expected. The story arc is never anything other than what one would expect. This is poor TV sitcom standard.

Keeping the Faith is one of those films that should never work, but it does.